Snare adjusting mechanism for drums



Dec. 16, 1952 G, W

SNARE ADJUSTING MECHANISM FORJDRUMS Filed Sept. 30, 1950 4 1\ a 5, a 1 rL 7 2 F) WIT A. i 1i. i U w W INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 16, 1952 SNARE ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR DRUMS George H. Way, Elkhart, Ind., assignor to o. G. Conn, Ltd., Elkhart, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application September 30, 1950, Serial N 0. 187,724

This invention relates to snare adjusting mechanism for drums, and more particularly to a mechanism for adjusting the snare unit from its operative to its inoperative position.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide snare adjusting mechanism which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, compact and pleasing in appearance and operable quickly and easily to adjust the snare.

Another object is to provide a snare adjusting mechanism in which all of the operating parts are enclosed in a compact housing which is movable to adjust the snare.

Still another object is to provide a snare adjusting mechanism in which the tension of the snare is easily adjustable and the snare can be moved from its operative to its inoperative position without affecting the tension adjustment. According to one feature of the invention, the snare is moved between its operative and inoperative position through a simple toggle linkage.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a partial axial section through a drum having a snare adjusting mechanism embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the parts in a difierent position, and

Figure 3 is a partial elevation of the snare adjusting mechanism.

The mechanism as illustrated is applied to a conventional snare drum having a tubular body I0 covered at one end with a vibratile snare head I The tension of the snare head may be adjusted through an internal ring l2 in the drum body as more particularly described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 158,799. It is to be understood however that the present snare adjusting mechanism can be used with drums having their heads mounted and adjustably tensioned in any other desired manner.

The snare unit i3 is adapted to be stretched diametrically across the head ll and may be formed of a series of strands of any desired material to vibrate against the head duringplaying of the drum. At one end the snare unit is anchored to a bracket It rigidly secured to one side of the drum body and pivotally carrying clamp member iii to which the snare unit is secured.

At the other side of the body the snare unit is anchored to an adjusting mechanism for tightening or loosening the snare unit to make it opera- 9 Claims. (Cl. 84415) 25 to the bracket ll.

tive or inoperative. As shown, a lever 16 is pivoted intermediate its ends on a bracket I1 extending from the drum body and is connected to the opposite end of the snare unit through a clamp plate 18. A hollow housing i9, preferably formed of sheet metal and channel shaped in section, is pivoted to the bracket IT on a pivot 2|. The housing carries an adjustable stop screw 22 threaded through the outer wall of the housing and engageable with the upper end of the lever E6 to adjust the snare tension. Preferably a spring 23 is provided urging the upper end of lever l6 away from the drum body to release the tension on the snare.

The housing [9 is adapted to be swung about its pivot to tension. and release the snare. For this purpose a toggle linkage is provided including an operating lever 24 extending through a slot in the upper part of the housing and pivoted at A link 25 which is preferably curved as shown to extend across the pivot 25 is pivoted at one end to the housing I9 on a pivot 21 and at its other end on a pivot 28 to a point on the lever 24 spaced from the pivot 25.

When the lever is thrown outward from the drum body as shown in Figure 1, the upper end of the housing 19 will be swung outward through the toggle linkage So that the stop screw 22 will move away from the upper end of the lever It. At this time the spring 23 will swing the lever It to its releasing position illustrated in Figure 1 so that tension on the snare unit will be released and it will disengage the drum head. To make the snare unit effective the lever 24 is swung up to the position shown in Figure 2 so that it will rock the housing l9 inward toward the drum body through the toggle linkage. It is noted that the toggle linkage will cross center so that once the housing is moved in toward the drum body it will tend to remain in this position until the lever is again moved.

At this time the adjustable screw 22 will engage the upperend of lever I-6 and swing it clockwise to tension the snare against the drum head. The amount of tension can easily be adjusted by adjusting the screw 22 and once set will remain even though the lever is operated to release the snare unit. It will be noted that all of the moving parts are enclosed within the housing l9 so that a small compact unit having a neat and pleasing appearance is provided.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end of the unit at one side of the body, a lever member at the other side of the body pivoted on an axis tangent to the body, means to connect the other end of the snare unit to the lever member, a toggle linkage including a pair of pivotally interconnected links one pivoted to the body and the other pivoted to the lever member, and an operating lever connected to one of the toggle links to pivot the lever member toward and away from the drum body.

2. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end of the unit at one side of the body, a lever member pivoted on the other side of the body and extending axially along the body, means to connect one end of the lever member to the other end of the snare unit, a toggle linkage including a pair of pivotally interconnected links one pivoted to the other end of the lever member and the other pivoted to the drum body, and an operating lever connected to one of the toggle links to pivot the lever member toward and away from the drum body.

3. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end of the unit at one side of the body, a hollow elongated housing pivoted on the other side of the drum body and extending axially along the body, means in the housing at one end thereof to con meet the housing to the other end of the snare unit, a toggle linkage in the housing at the other end thereof connecting the housing to the drum body, and an operating lever in the toggle linkage extending through the housing to pivot the housing toward and away from the drum body.

4.. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end I of the unit at one side of the body, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the other side of the body on an axis tangent to the body and extending axially along the body, the other end of the snare unit being connected to one end of the lever, a lever member pivoted adjacent and on an axis parallel to that of the lever and extending axially along the body, an adjustable abutment on the lever member engageable with the other end of the lever, and means to move the lever member about its pivot thereby to move the lever.

5. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end of the unit at one side of the body, a lever Number Name Date 2,295,479 Jeifries Sept. 8, 1942 2,517,144 Strupe Aug. 1, 1958' pivoted intermediate its ends on the other side of the body on an axis tangent to the body and extending axially along the body, the other end of the snare unit being connected to one end of the lever, a lever member pivoted adjacent and on an axis parallel to thatv of the lever and extending axially along the body, an adjustable abutment on the lever member engageable with the other end of the lever, a toggle linkage connecting the lever member to the body, and an operating lever in the toggle linkage to move the lever member about its pivot toward and away from the body.

6. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end of the unit at one side of the body, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the other side of the body on an axis tangent to the body and extending axially along the body, the other end of the snare unit being connected to one end of the lever, an elongated hollow housing pivoted to the body on an axis parallel to the lever axis and inclosing the lever, an adjustable abutment carried by the housing and engaging the other end of the lever, and means in the housing to swing it about its pivot toward and away from the body.

7. A snare adjusting mechanism for a drum comprising a hollow drum body, a head at one end of the body, a snare unit stretched diametrically across the head, means to anchor one end of the unit at one side of the body, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the other side of the body on an axis tangent to the body and extending axially along the body, the other end of the snare unit being connected to one end of the lever, an elongated hollow housing pivoted to the body on an axis parallel to the lever axis and inclosing the lever, an adjustable abutment carried by the housing and engaging the other end of the lever to move it toward the body, a toggle linkage in the housing connecting it to the drum body, and an operating lever in the toggle linkage projecting through the housing to pivot it toward and away from the drum body.

8. The mechanism of claim 2 in which a spring urges the other end of the lever member away from the drum body and the toggle links are arranged to move over center and latch when the other end of the lever member is moved toward the drum body to tension the snare unit.

9. The mechanism of claim 7 in which a spring urges the other end of the lever away from the body and the toggle linkage is arranged to move over center and latch when the housing is moved toward the body to tension the snare unit.

GEORGE H. WAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

